Thadeus Thornton III

Coca-Cola, J&J Remain Atop ‘Power Brands’ List; GM Biggest Loser

"Mister Jimmy":

Isn't that the truth! Most , if not all, of the writers here like to bash GM constantly. Either they drive foreign brand cars or have stock in those brands. I know one writer here, initials "M. L.", who insists he has no axe to grind with GM, but "only prefers a "certain " German made car " for his tastes.
It's interesting, GM and Buick in particular, has had cars in the top 10 of the J.D. Power ratings for at least the last 3 years. And it gets ignored or derided. Now GM has a Buick tied for #1, and these critics still want to bash or ignore. If the U.S economy continues to suffer and go under, it's elitist attitudes of people like this that are self defeating for this country and self fulfilling in their desire to see domestic auto companies fail.

Preview from Europe: Stocks Go Cliff Diving Again

I guess I would be a little more broad minded here. Not ALL of the people you label here fall into this category. Like I said, some people need to depend on the "social" contract" of the people advising them. And they should be able to. After all, most employers won't offer a defined pension anymore. So an employee is left plunking his/her money into whatever 401K plans that are offered. They have no choice. If a person is a machinist, a nurse, a trash collector, factory worker, etc: they have no choice and somehow are supposed "bone up" on financial terms and the socio-political things that affect the markets? Besides, I didn't triple or quadruple my gains in any of my investments. And neither did anyone else I know. Most people lost any gains of "irrational exuberance" in the stock market "raid" of 1999 - 2001. It took me almost six yeas to get back to even.

Preview from Europe: Stocks Go Cliff Diving Again

The Daily show is worth the read here. Ain't it the truth! I used to watch CNBC. How can these guys say they are experts when they didn't see the stock market sell off and raiding (1999 - 2001) that had been pumped up with all the poor "home owner" individuals that pumped it up with money in their 401K and 401B plans? And now this takes the cake. More "Expert" advice from CNBC gurus and the peopel they pick to air their expert opinions. Rubbish. . . sadly rubbish.The "Big Boys" will whine and scream about being taxed too much, but sure are there when "tax payers" money is being offered!

That being said, many people also put their trust into the "social contracts" that the finance, real estate, investment, and other so called professionals promote and sell. Where was truth in advertising and sound advice from the financial gurus? It couldn't be Madison Ave. advertising and the desire for investment bankers to get big bonuses here that might be a little more at fault also, could it? Then lets blame the home owner, individual, and his/her irresponsibility or ignorance. I don't think so. IMO.

A Company Is Too Big to Fail? Make It Smaller

@ Filonov
Interesting perspective. So then, if GE,GM, and Boeing are "too big", what about foreign companies such as Toyota, Honda, Fuji Heavy Industries, etc? Try this. Maybe it's not the size but related to one of your other statements:
"--> I am usually not a big fan of regulation. In most cases it's wrong. But in some cases we need regulation and in some cases we need to increase it, otherwise we have situation like now <---"

You look young enough to not have been around in the 1950's or even 1960's. That era had it's problems too, but growth and prosperity were the norm, even with occasional inflation. The thing that we had then was much more regulation. Look what deregulation has done for the airline industry, energy business (oil), as well as Wall ST. and banking/finance/invest... businesses.
We even have problems with bacterial toxins in our food ( peanut butter) because FDA manpower and regulations were reduced a great deal starting mainly in about 1980. This continued over several administrations over the years. Indeed, look at where it got us. It is usually businesses that are shady or trying to be unscrupulously opportunistic to maximize their in-pocket profits that are concerned with regulations. With no too little ( like now) or no regulations society pays a much heavier toll later. Unfortunately , a portion of mankind is always unscrupulous, greedy, shady, or worse. Throw in garden variety stupidity and ignorance and regulations are needed. Much more so then we have now for sure IMO.